The Czech Constitutionalist Progressive Party () was a Czech political party in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. The party was established in April 1909 by a merger of the Czech Radical Progressive Party and the Czech Constitutionalist Radical Party. The first leader of the party was Antonín Hajn, former leader of the Radical Progressives. The party spokesman was Lev Borský.

Program

The party was a radical upholder of the rights of the

Lands of the Bohemian Crown The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of B ...

and supporter of

democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a ful ...

and economic reforms. The party ideology was

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

, drawing inspiration from the ideas of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

and the

liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into diff ...

the party saw in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In May 1914, the party published a ''"Manifesto to Europe"'' where it proclaimed support to the

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the party was suspended. Many party members joined the Czech resistance in the

Maffia Maffia (''Maffie'' or ''Mafie'' in Czech) was a secret organization acting during World War I. It was founded after emigration of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in 1914 by Czech politician Edvard Beneš, who later became second president of Czechoslo ...

organization. In February 1918 the party merged into the Czech Constitutional Democracy which was later succeeded by the

Czechoslovak National Democracy The Czechoslovak National Democracy (), called also Czechoslovak National Democratic Party (), was a First Republic right-wing political party in Czechoslovakia. History The party was established in 1918 by a merger of the Free-minded National ...

.Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, p145

Electoral results

References

{{Authority control Political parties in Austria-Hungary Political parties established in 1908 Political parties disestablished in 1918 1908 establishments in Austria-Hungary 1918 disestablishments in Austria-Hungary Defunct political parties in the Czech Republic Radical parties